About Sri Lanka

Food

The staple diet in Sri Lanka is rice. It is eaten with curry and a variety of chutneys, pickles and sambals. The rice may be boiled and served with curries or it may be cooked with spices and in coconut milk, as 'yellow' rice. It is also baked in meat stock as a Biriyani. Meats, seafood and vegetables are cooked as a curry with a base of coconut milk.

Kiribath

Kiribath means 'milk rice' and is a traditional dish for festive or special occasions.

Hoppers

Hoppers (egg and plain) are made of a batter containing coconut milk and palm toddy left overnight to ferment. It is then fried in a bowl shaped metal pan which forms its shape. Simply breaking an egg into the centre of the plain hopper makes an egg hopper.

String Hoppers

String Hoppers are vermicelli made of rice flour and steamed over a low fire.

Pittu

Pittu is prepared with rice flour and shredded coconut and steamed inside a bamboo. It is eaten with a hot sambal and pol hodi (coconut gravy).

Lamprais

Lamprais is a dish of Dutch origin. The rice is boiled in meat stock and then the vegetables and meat are added then slowly baked wrapped in a banana leaf.

Desserts

The wide array of Sri Lankan sweets betrays the sweet tooth of the Sri Lankan.

Buffalo Curd and Treacle

Buffalo Curd and Treacle (kithul pani which is made from the kithul palm).

Juggery

Juggery is a hard, brown coloured sweet made out of kitul treacle.

Kalu Dodol

Kalu Dodol is made out of coconut milk, juggery and cashew nuts.

Kavum, Kokis and Athiraha

Kavum, Kokis and Athiraha are traditional Sinhala sweetmeats.

Watalappan

Watalappan is made out of boiled coconut milk and juggery laced with cashew nuts and raisins.

Rasakevili

Rasakevili are the sweetmeats eaten during the festive seasons.

Thalaguli

Thalaguli are sesame balls.

Halape

Halape are a mixture of coconut and juggery.

Aluwa

Aluwa is a fudge-like sweet.

Puhul Dosi

Puhul Dosi (pumpkin preserves).

Panivalalu

Panivalalu are 'honey bangles'.

Bibikkan

Bibikkan is a traditional Sinhala cake made from juggery, coconut, cashews and dried fruit.

Fruits

Tropical fruits are plentiful in Sri Lanka. There are various varieties of mangoes, bananas, papaya, pineapples, avocados, guava, melons, passion fruit and pomegranate.

Rambutan

Rambutan is related to the lychee. It is coated with a soft red hairy skin, which is easily peeled to rach the sweet flesh of the fruit.

Mangosteen

Mangosteen is a dark purple fruit with luscious translucent segments within. Its flavour may be described as a combination between strawberries and grapes. They are seasonal and are available from July to September.

Durian

Although the skin of the fruit has a strong, sometimes unpleasant aroma, the fruit is rich, soft, and yellow custard-like on the inside. This is believed to be an aphrodisiac.

Wood Apple

Wood Apple is a hard wooden-shelled fruit. This can be made into a tasty drink or a rich pudding with coconut milk.

Jackfruit

Jackfruit is very large fruit and may be eaten fresh as a fruit or cooked as a curry. Within the coarse, green skin, there are hundreds of succulent orange/yellow segments.

Babyjack

Babyjack is a watermelon-sized fruit which is eaten cooked as a curry.

Fish and Seafood

Being an island surrounded by the ocean, there is naturally a huge selection of seafood.

These include:
Prawns, Tuna, Crabs, Mullet, Shrimp, Shark, Lobster, Skipjack, Large Tiger Prawns, Amberjack, Squid, Seer. There is also a large variety of freshwater fish.

Thosai

Thosai is a mix of rice, urad dal, water and fenugeek powder. Urad dal and rice will be soaked in water first and the grind them separately in a grinder or a mixer. Then a batter is made in circles till you get a thin flat pancake. A teaspoon of oil has to be added along the edges and cook till crisp. It is eaten with coconut sambol and sambhar.